Category Archives: News

Call for Expressions of Interest to join the OAS Women Economic Empowerment (WEE) Project

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Announcing to the OECS member states of Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent & the Grenadines the Call for Expressions of Interest to join the OAS Women Economic Empowerment (WEE) Project. This project targets women-owned and women-led Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and is designed to empower women to actively participate in and benefit from the digital economy and to build sustainable livelihoods.

By participating in this project, women entrepreneurs will have access to mechanisms and various opportunities for digitizing their businesses, building an online presence, accessing financial services, accessing international markets, among others. Cutting edge information on relevant topics for business development as well as mentoring programs will be provided and direct access to a MSME Clearinghouse which provides toolkits and resources to access the digital economy, financial opportunities and partnerships. A National Working Group has been established in each country made up of partner institutions to provide support to businesses.

MSME Women entrepreneurs operating within these member countries, are invited to apply at https://forms.gle/E5h5GrVcVrxchsyi9. This registration link will remain open until April 27, 2023.

The better equipped our women entrepreneurs are, the greater their impact on economic growth and development of their families and communities.

The OAS WEE project encourages wide circulation to all eligible women. For more information, contact the Caribbean Project Manager, Lizra Fabien at LFabien@oas.org. 

Green Business – Vetiver Engineering and Value-Added Products

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View Full Article – Vetiver Engineering and Value Added Products

From its inception in 2020 EbA Project Partner IAMovement has engaged directly through our CBO/NGOs with the ten communities in the four implementing countries in business opportunities utilizing vetiver systems, handicraft and product development. To date the Project has engaged with more than three hundred community residents in either VS-VEEP installations and nursery operations and /or Handicraft Training.

EbA Project: Training Drone Pilots for Monitoring Ecosystems

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  • Participants viewing drone, while standing is Craig Thomas, National Specialist IICA Antigua & Barbuda (Photos Courtesy of IICA Antigua)
  • Dr. Broadbent of University of Florida on the left is the ‘drone training facilitator’
    (Photos Courtesy of IICA Antigua)

View Full Article – IICA -Training Drone Pilots Sept 2022

One of our many partners IICA Antigua and Barbuda, has started a training program of 9 drone pilots here in Antigua and Barbuda. These pilots are to help with the collection of information regarding the EbA project here in Antigua and Barbuda.

Additional Photos:

Drone Training Facebook Post – Antigua Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Barbuda Affairs

GARD Center CSA Course Highlights – EAG Sponsor

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Our Sponsor for this Project

The Center has successfully completed 14 weeks of training in Community Climate Smart Agriculture with special focus on Business, Backyard Gardening and Hydroponics. This training sponsored by the Environmental Awareness Group (EAG) focused on the communities of the North, East Marine Management Area (NEMMA). The course commenced on 31st May 2022 with sessions held every Tuesday – Thursday from 5:00 – 7:30 p.m. at GARD Center. 

The latter part of the training encouraged participants to engage in practical, hands-on training and field visits were made to Hydroponics Farms and Backyard Gardens. The practical components also saw persons constructing raised beds, a compost bin, and a Mini Hydroponics unit as part of a Start-Up Kit. Additionally, participants engaged in planting seeds as well as transplanting seedlings into raised beds as part of their practical sessions. 


The Completion Ceremony for the Environmental Awareness Group (EAG) was held on Wednesday 31st August 2022 at GARD Center and 8 out of 11 trainees receive certificates, a Mini Hydroponics and Backyard Garden Start-Up Kit with other complimentary tools to assist with their Backyard Gardening and Hydroponics journey.    

Practical Sessions and Field Visits for Backyard Gardening and Hydroponics Class Sessions

Bowen’s Hydroponics Field Visit

SHAADE Hydroponics Field Visit

Backyard Gardening Field Visit to Mr. Osborne’s Property

  • \Mr. Osborne’s Backyard Gardening

Crabbs Plant Nursery Field Visit

Cleaning GARDC Hydroponics System

Exploring Types of Hydroponic Systems

Finding Donkey Manure for Raised Garden Beds

Building Raised Beds

Constructing Compost Bin Using Pallets

Planting Cuttings of Flower Plants Using Powder in Perlite

Volunteering and Planting Seedlings

CSA Course Highlights – Sandals Foundation Sponsor

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Our Sponsor for this Project

The Sandals Foundation sponsored 20 persons in Climate Smart Agriculture for Youth with Hydroponics and saw 14 successful participants who received training. The course started on 30th May 2022 and sessions were held every Monday – Wednesday from 5:00 – 7:30 p.m. at GARD Center. 

The latter part of the training encouraged participants to engage in practical, hands-on training. In addition, field visits were made to Hydroponics Farms and Backyard Gardens. The practical components of the course encouraged persons to construct raised beds and a Mini Hydroponics Unit as part of a Start-Up Kit. Another part of the practical sessions encouraged participants to engaged in planting seeds as well as transplanting seedlings into raised beds. 


The course ended with a Completion Ceremony on Wednesday 31st August 2022 at GARD Center and the participants received a Mini Hydroponics and Backyard Garden Start-Up Kit with other complimentary tools to assist with their Backyard Gardening and Hydroponics journey. 

Completion Ceremony

Group photo with sponsor (Sandals Foundation), Ministry of Agriculture Representative, Trainees and GARD Center Staff



Hydroponics top student award, Fellisa Simon

Building Raised Garden Beds

  • Practical session and field visit for Back Yard Gardening & Hydroponics. Building of raised garden beds
  • Planting of Seeds

Introduction to the Hydroponics System

Backyard Gardening Field Visit to Mr. Osborne

  

Update of Training Sessions at the GARD Center

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Evening training is currently ongoing at the GARD Center in Beginners Beekeeping sponsored by the Mill Reef Fund and Climate Smart Agriculture with Business Enterprise, Hydroponics and Backyard Gardening funded by the Environmental Awareness Group (EAG) and the Sandals Foundation. These training sessions are held at the GARD Center in Mercers Creek from 5:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

During these 14 weeks of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) training, participants have been involved in Business Enterprise sessions to include Costing and Pricing, Communication & Marketing, Intellectual Property, Business Plan, Parasitology, Budding and Grafting and Vermiculture. These training courses and are now in their sixth week of training and the participants have been engaged in climate smart discussions and vibrant class sessions. As these courses progress, each participant is eagerly looking forward to more practical hands-on training and field work. In the weeks ahead, participants would also engage in Packaging and Labelling, Backyard Gardening and Hydroponics practicals along with field visits. 

Group A – Sponsored by the Sandals Foundation.

  • Budding & Grafting

Group B- Sponsored by the Environmental Awareness Group (EAG)

Marketing and Communication

  • Vermiculture

Parasitology

Over 30 persons have shown interest in 12 weeks of training in Beginners Beekeeping of whom 25 participants are currently receiving the tools and hands-on training to prepare them to begin their apiaries. Each participant will receive the added component of Business Enterprise to include Packaging and Labelling to develop their brand and business idea. During the training participants have shown great enthusiasm in class sessions and a WhatsApp group was created to share information and ask questions to expand on their knowledge in Beekeeping. Each participant constructed their own bee frames and were outfitted with bee suits to carry out a field visit at the Urlings Primary School to remove a beehive. The bees were safely relocated to bee boxes and the honey extracted from the beehive was refined. The beeswax was used to make lip balm and other products and each participant received a sample.   

12 Weeks of Training in Beginners Beekeeping sponsored by the Mill Reef Fund

Orientation Day

  • Orientation

  • Orientation Day

Making Lip Balm with Bee’s Wax

Extracting Honey

  • Making Lip Balm from honey

Assembling Bee Frames

Using A Bee Smoker

Students watching as how to use the bee smoker is demonstrated.

Field Visit to Urlings Secondary School to Remove Bee Hive

Participants assisted with the removal of a bee hive from the school.

GARD Center Hydroponic Programme for Strengthened Food Production – sponsored by Sandals Foundation

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News Release

Youth Hydroponic Programme to Strengthen Community Food Production and Livelihood Opportunities

The GARD Center (Gilbert Agricultural and Rural Development Center) is a grassroot non-profit, non-government organization which operates under the auspices of the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas (MCCA).  The Center is very pleased to announce its continuous partnership with the Sandals Foundation through its funding of the “Climate Smart Agriculture For Youth- Hydroponic” Project.

For the past thirty-two (32) years, the Center has been working arduously with at-risk youth, men and women in the community to engage them in various forms of sustainable agriculture for the 21st century.

With a primary focus of raising climate smart agriculture practices amongst young people towards long term food security, the Climate Smart Agriculture for Youth – Hydroponic programme seeks to:

  • Create awareness of the present and future threats related to climate change and agriculture.
  • Make youth aware of the contributions they can make in the agriculture sector for a better future, especially through the application of climate-smart practices in agriculture, during this COVID-19 period.
  • Train a total of 20 youth in hydroponics systems.
  • Build the capacity of participants to construct a hydroponic unit and provide a starter kit to include seeds, rockwool and a water pump.

The programme support forms part of the Sandals Foundation’s 40 sustainable community projects being executed across the Caribbean to commemorate its parent company’s 40th anniversary. Through its broad scale investment in a number of farming and agriculture educational programmes, the philanthropic arm of Sandals Resorts seeks to strengthen the Caribbean’s food security and livelihood opportunities.

About the Sandals Foundation

The Sandals Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Sandals Resorts International (SRI), the Caribbean’s leading family-owned resort company.  The 501(c)(3) non-profit organization was created to continue and expand upon the charitable work that Sandals Resorts International has undertaken since its founding in 1981 to play a meaningful role in the lives of the communities where SRI operates throughout the Caribbean. The Sandals Foundation funds projects in three core areas: education, community and the environment. One hundred percent of the monies contributed by the general public to the Sandals Foundation go directly to programs benefiting the Caribbean community. To learn more about the Sandals Foundation, visit online at www.sandalsfoundation.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This partnership is in collaboration with the Agricultural Extension Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).  The GARD Center will expand its Climate Smart Agriculture programme that focuses on Hydroponics systems.